Community investment in NextEnergy Solar Fund

The investment was made from BD Giving’s community impact fund

FundA way for people to combine their money and invest together.

, the UK’s first community-led impact

Impact Means the changes to the world we expect to see because of an investment. This could be numbers of people helped, the amount of change or the creation of things that make the world better. This is not exclusive to investment or finance.

investment vehicle. BD Giving’s community steering group

Community Steering Group (CSG) A group of local people who give their time and ideas to make Barking & Dagenham Giving’s community-led investment fund a success, now and for future generations.

selected NESF as the ideal investment to promote the UK’s net-zero transition and clean energy goals given its large operating solar asset base throughout the UK.

The investment policy

Investment Policy A strategic document that outlines how an organisation will manage their investment assets (the “Portfolio”), with often a set of financial (and sometimes impact) objectives and boundaries.

for the Fund aims to achieve a balance between impact

Impact Means the changes to the world we expect to see because of an investment. This could be numbers of people helped, the amount of change or the creation of things that make the world better. This is not exclusive to investment or finance.

, risk

Risk When you invest money there is always a chance that you won’t get the return you expected. Weighing that up is important before investing.

and return

Return The amount of money you expect to get back from an investment, usually as a percentage gained over a set period of time.

.

A Community Steering Group, made up of twelve residents of Barking and Dagenham, made the investment decision. NESF was a natural fit for the Fund’s investment policy, demonstrating to Barking and Dagenham residents the forward-thinking approach of the BD Giving team as they work towards a net-zero future.

NESF has a portfolio of 92 operating solar assets in the UK with a total combined installed power capacity of 933MW. This generates enough renewable energy to power the equivalent of c.242,000 average UK home electricity needs for an entire year. NextEnergy Solar Fund also leads many environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives and benefits for the communities in which it establishes solar sites. Find out more about these initiatives on NESF’s website.

Peter Hamid, Vice President at NextEnergy Capital commented: